Looking at this 1/2 stack for 1K

[D-Rock]

This is dead mint with very low hours and the guy is willing to do $1000 USD. Cab has V30s.

Worth a shot, or not?

 

[Techdeth]

Idk about $1k but it’s a decent amp . Tell him $800 cash

 

[CoreyW]

There is one of these heads for $500 on FB marketplace around Atlanta.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Yeah I'd offer lower. There are aome good tones in it can kinda come close to a Marshally tone, a Mesaish tone but will still always be its own thing. Good cleans too. I had one for a bit. Also verify V30'S or else that cab is worth next to zero if it is loaded with Carvins crap speakers.

 

[RaceU4her]

yeah id offer $800. that cab with v30s im sure sounds at least decent where you wont take too much a hit if the amp is terrible.

 

[Metlupass2]

Pass

 

[BeZo]

Carvin cabs are solid builds.
Carvin amps are not.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I'd pass at 1K. Like others have said maybe $800, but IMO that's too much. I'd look at it as just buying the cab and the amp is thrown in for free.

The Carvin V3 head is pretty much a crap amp. A big fizzy, inarticulate non-versatile mess. I was really interested in this amp at one point and was close to getting one. I'm glad I came to my senses before I wasted my money. The amp almost takes away from the value of the cab if sold as a set.

Cab on the other hand, if it's plywood and not MDF would be a good purchase at the right price. If anything it's worth the value of the V30's.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

I'd pass at 1K. Like others have said maybe $800, but IMO that's too much. I'd look at it as just buying the cab and the amp is thrown in for free.

The Carvin V3 head is pretty much a crap amp. A big fizzy, inarticulate non-versatile mess. I was really interested in this amp at one point and was close to getting one. I'm glad I came to my senses before I wasted my money. The amp almost takes away from the value of the cab if sold as a set.

Cab on the other hand, if it's plywood and not MDF would be a good purchase at the right price. If anything it's worth the value of the V30's.

Interesting. I wonder if there was something wrong with the one you tried. It could be fizzy as fuck if dialed that way but I owned one for a little over a year and got some really good tones out of it. You definitely can't dial Carvin amps like other brands. Definitely dial by ear and this amp has a lot of tone shaping options that make it easier to dial in shit tones than good ones. And I had it next to the best JCM 800 and a Mark III at the time I owned it. It certainly wasn't as good as those amps but could cop a good approximation of both at the same time.

 

[RaceU4her]

this thing sounds interesting lol

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Interesting. I wonder if there was something wrong with the one you tried. It could be fizzy as fuck if dialed that way but I owned one for a little over a year and got some really good tones out of it. You definitely can't dial Carvin amps like other brands. Definitely dial by ear and this amp has a lot of tone shaping options that make it easier to dial in shit tones than good ones. And I had it next to the best JCM 800 and a Mark III at the time I owned it. It certainly wasn't as good as those amps but could cop a good approximation of both at the same time.

Nothing was wrong with it. It just sounded like ass to me when I got to try one out. At he time you could buy a 6505 for the same price or less and get much better tones. It may sound fine on its own, but comparatively is a the bottom of the pile.

 

[Geo]

ehh

 

[tallcoolone]

The amp almost takes away from the value of the cab if sold as a set.

Love this!

 

[Speeddemon]

Owned and sold the V3M (smaller, 4xEL84 version). Mine came with a scratched top cover, so I spray painted it black myself. Came out nicely, I think.

I was hoping too that it would be the ultimate 3-channel lunchbox amp for small gigs, but like @MadAsAHatter said, there was a certain fizziness to it, and if you tried to dial it out, it would become 'blanket over cab'-tone. I did a lot of tube-rolling too, with 5751's, ECC802's and whatnot to try to get rid of that fizz and flub.
The clean channel itself was really good though, and one of the modes even had a good Plexi-like tone, that made you play Bad Company and AC/DC...but the drive channels for me weren't tight enough for good metal. I gigged with it (on a 2x12) for maybe half a year, but once I got a hold of the simpler Engl Ironball, that was the first lunchbox head that didn't do the bloated or fizzy thing.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

I tried the V3M and hated it, like most EL84 small wattage amps, weird mids to me and buzzy. But I still think the original 100 watter is a great value for $500. There are some good tones to be had, especially in classic eq mode. Everyone toggles to EQX and that is where the terrible fizzy tones live as it opens up the full range of the 1 meg pots.